Superstition is compelling for some people in everyday life. It can color how they view their day-to-day existence, and how they deal with business transactions. It seems appropriate then for me to relate a personal experience that happened to me during a Real Estate transaction.
It was a cool spring morning when I first decided to go and look at this particular property. The listing agent accompanied me in this instance because the homeowner spoke very little English and I needed an interpreter to assist with questions and concerns.
I quickly began to notice several items that caught my eye but I really paid no attention too. Salt was sprinkled across the entranceway for instance, the homeowner knocked on wood every time that she was unsure of something or made a warranty about a feature of the home.
I left the property intrigued and over the next week I viewed the home again without the owner present and decided that I wanted to purchase the building. I tend to prefer quick negotiations, but these negotiations were dragged out for 6 days. The primary sticking point was price. I only wanted to pay $105,000 for the property. The agent assured me up front that the number was not acceptable. I offered it anyway. She looked me square in the eye and said "fives are unlucky".
Sure enough, a couple of hours latter I received a call from the agent saying that $108,000 was lucky and if I would please accept the altered price. I was taken aback at first. I ultimately bought the property, but it was amazing how this transaction was driven by a belief in certain supernatural forces.
I now live in the home and have questioned my sanity on several occasions. The home and I have a love hate relationship and I have scratched out every 8 in the place. 5 is my new lucky number.
